Olympic Voices - by Tom, Providence Row Art Project member

Well!

The opening of Olympic Voices is this week at Rich Mix.

Shiraz asked me to write a final blog for our project and I have been putting it off till now.

Why?

I suppose most of the summary will be contained for you within your own mind as you watch along with the still images and the videos. The summary is open ended. The conclusions are yet to be realised.

The Olympians, one and all, we Came, we Saw and we were Conquered. We were Conquered by the talent on display in front and beside us. We were overwhelmed by the greatness of the collective human spirit of togetherness both on the track and field at all the events. The people came and went inclusive of athletes and supporters.

Openness, good humour, joy, expectation of politeness with the cooperation of corporate support. The build up of the negative and positive expectation prior to the arrival of the event.

Enjoying the individual moments, special to all of us, etched into our own minds, of those brief summer weeks, of the memories of the Olympic Summer of 2012.

The brief interlude of flatness between the Olympics and the Paralympics.

The final goodbyes,

The political speeches,

The farewells, the bonhomie and last pats on the back.

Then gone.

Corporateness seen and unseen.

Back to the realities of life in London as another winter approaches.

For me, I enjoyed the whole experience of the project working on both the sound and the videos. No couch potato at this event. With the loss of my Scouse Teddy Bear, I had to drop my alter ego and appear in front of, rather than behind, the camera. No hiding behind Teddy at the end of this project allowing a growth in confidence of me and a glimpse of me by me, and relaxed enough to share.

I hope you enjoy the project as much as I did.

Tom.


Olympic Voices runs from 14-28 November at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA. Entry is free.
More information can be found on our website or on Rich Mix’s website.